UPDATED (Oct. 2):Added the second and third parts of Romanoff’s reform plan, his position on term limits and a reference to his state pension eligibility.

Andrew Romanoff, the Democrat challenging U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, on Tuesday rolled out the first half of his “10-point agenda to reform the way Washington works.” The first set of proposed reforms focuses mostly on perks for Congress. It’s a collection of ideas that has found limited reception in Congress — as Coffman, a Republican, has learned.

Romanoff says it’s important to keep trying on the reform ideas. Later in the week, his campaign released the second part, focusing on campaign finance, and the third part, addressing the revolving door. More on those at the end of this post.

“Washington isn’t working for the middle class, in part because Congress doesn’t have to play by the same rules as the rest of us,” Romanoff says in a news release. “Too many members of Congress protect their own perks and privileges — sacrificing our needs and sticking us with the bill. It’s time for a change.”

A new report from National Journal puts Colorado Democratic congressional candidate Andrew Romanoff at the top of the heap nationally this year when it comes to raising small-bill donations. The nonpartisan publication analyzed campaign finance reports from dozens of candidates locked in the tightest House races and ranked them based on the total of donations under $200.

Romanoff racked up $833,527 in small donations through June 30, the most recent reporting period, in the race to represent a suburban Denver district.

Following Tuesday’s debate and an explosion of ads about the race, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman and Democratic challenger Andrew Romanoff each have a new TV ad out in the last 24 hours. Wisely, both opted against purely negative ads and instead went for spots that contrast themselves with their opponent, often a more effective style.

In both cases, the ads largely stick to factual citations, with a little spin thrown in, though Coffman’s sharp-edged spot includes one reference about Romanoff that could use a little more context.

The ads come as some prognosticators are shifting away from calling suburban Denver’s 6th Congressional District race, among the most competitive House contests in the nation this year, a pure tossup. Amid momentum elsewhere for Republican candidates, the Rothenberg Political Report (paywalled) now rates the Coffman/Romanoff race as “Toss-Up/Tilt Republican.” Politico and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics classify the race as “Leans Republican.” It’s hard to know, since there’s been no public polling in the race, though some commentators noted that Romanoff was more aggressive than Coffman in this week’s debate.

During Tuesday night’s Denver Post debate in the 6th Congressional District, Democratic challenger Andrew Romanoff backtracked from his support four years ago for a single-payer health care system. At the time, the Affordable Care Act had just been passed by Congress, and Romanoff was running to the left of Sen. Michael Bennett as he challenged him unsuccessfully in the party primary.

U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman’s campaign seized Wednesday on what it called Romanoff’s “180-degree reversal,” suggesting his more moderate position this year was a “white wash” of his record. Romanoff said his position favoring a government-paid system changed because the health care reform law is now in place, and he doesn’t think it should be scrapped.

On the other side of the aisle, Romanoff and national Democrats after the debate are highlighting Coffman’s answers on two main issues in campaign appeals and press releases: climate change — Coffman disagreed humans are causing it and that it can be reversed in answer to yes-or-no questions, then walked his answers back later to say he thinks humans are causing climate change but isn’t sure how much; and birth control — Coffman offered up votes in favor of programs that provide contraception to show he’s supported maintaining women’s access, but Democrats cite a litany of other votes that they argue contradict that record. (Some of those are on point, and others are broader bills or measures where other issues were at play, too). Both issues were addressed in The Post’s recap story of the debate, which also includes a full video of the event.

UPDATE: Added information about Amendment 59, a 2008 effort that Andrew Romanoff supported to repeal TABOR spending limits. The NRCC did not cite that failed effort in its ad or in a spokesman’s comments, but it would have supported the group’s argument better.

U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, left, and Democrat Andrew Romanoff smile at the start of a their first debate in August. (Brennan Linsley, Associated Press)

The air war in the race between U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman and Democrat Andrew Romanoff is stepping up a notch or three Tuesday as their parties’ campaign committees begin blasting attack ads on Denver TV stations. They are the first ads aired by the party committees in the race, one of the most hotly contested House contests in the nation.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says its anti-Coffman ad is “part of a nearly $1 million ad buy,” with more likely on the way. The National Republican Congressional Committee says its new anti-Romanoff ad cost $300,000 to place on Denver broadcast stations this week, part of an overall $3.7 million buy through the fall — the most it’s investing in any race so far.

The spin artists at both outfits have been hard at work crafting ads that, while based on actual positions or events, make key distortions.

Tonight’s congressional debate between former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff and U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman in one of the most closely watched U.S. House races in the country should bring an hour of political theater.

Here are five things to watch for in the Congressional District 6 debate, which is sponsored by The Denver Post and begins at 6 p.m. It will be live streamed at www.denverpost.com/debates (link will be active later today).

2. Which will happen first: Coffman reminding the audience that he’s a veteran (drink!) or Romanoff telling viewers his mother is a Democrat and his father is a Republican?

3. Will the candidates’ views on immigration get beyond Romanoff’s role in the 2006 special session and Coffman’s former admiration of immigration firebrand Tom Tancredo?

4. Will Coffman be on the defensive over his past support for Colorado personhood measures and other arguments from the Democrats’ “war on women” playbook?

5. How many times will Coffman bring up Romanoff’s aggressively negative campaign against Sen. Michael Bennet in the 2010 Democratic primary? Related: Can Romanoff explain why Bennet recently deleted the ad where he calls the speaker “sleazy” and why did it take four years?

U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman’s varying positions on gay-rights issues — he’s seen as a supporter by advocates in some areas, but does not endorse same-sex marriage — have been met with criticism from some, while others have applauded him for taking steps such as signing on as a co-sponsor of the pending Employment Non-Discrimination Act. On Wednesday night, the Republican from suburban Denver was set to be one of several special guests at the Log Cabin Republicans’ annual Spirit of Lincoln Dinner in Washington, D.C., a high-profile event headlined by Mary Cheney.

“I’m proud to be endorsed by the Log Cabin Republicans,” Coffman said in a statement. “I share their principles of limited government, a strong national defense, individual liberty, and a more inclusive Republican Party.”

The Aurora VA Medical Center project faced delays because of contractor glitches, which cost the federal government nearly $500 million in overruns. (Denver Post 2011 file)

The U.S. House passed a bill aimed at reining in overruns and speeding construction on Veterans Affairs hospital projects Monday night in a unanimous voice vote, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman’s office said. Coffman sponsored the bill after conducting hearings into overruns on several major projects, including a new VA hospital in Aurora.

Next the bill heads to the Senate, but consideration there likely will come after a month-long congressional recess that begins at the end of the week.

“Once passed into law, this legislation will help get our veterans the healthcare services they have earned,” Coffman said in a statement from his congressional office. He’s running for re-election this fall against Democrat Andrew Romanoff.

The bipartisan bill would set the stage for emergency managers from the Army Corps of Engineers to provide oversight of each of three projects and would make other changes focused on streamlining the change-order process. Besides Aurora, the other affected hospital projects are in New Orleans and Orlando.

U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman’s campaign has sent cease-and-desist letters to four Denver TV stations airing an ad that makes wild claims about the potential financial backers of outside groups supporting Coffman. The ad by CounterPAC, funded by a group of tech donors, was in response to Coffman declining to take CounterPAC’s pledge to discourage spending by outside groups that don’t disclose their donors.

The letters call the ad “patently false,” a claim CounterPAC disputes because the ad uses artful language. Coffman’s lawyer urges the stations to stop running the spot or risk violating a Colorado law that prohibits knowingly or recklessly broadcasting campaign ads with false claims. (Read one letter here.)

In the land of sizeable TV ad buys, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has been attacking Democratic congressional candidate Andrew Romanoff this month with a message that’s a simple, perennial favorite of Republicans: It links him to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker when Democrats were in control. The ad’s narrator concludes: “In Washington, Andrew Romanoff would work for Pelosi, not us.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce disclosed that it’s spending $300,000 to place the ad widely. The group previously has spent more than $450,000 in support of Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman’s re-election campaign against Romanoff, the former Colorado House speaker, in suburban Denver’s 6th Congressional District.

Lynn Bartels thinks politics is like sports but without the big salaries and protective cups. The Washington Post's "The Fix" blog has named her one of Colorado's best political reporters and tweeters.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.